Shameless
by Microwaves
Summary: Because there is no shame in wanting to achieve your life's goals - even if they are fueled by greed. Rating may go up.
1. I meet a guy

**_Disclaimer: I do not own BNHA, obviously, or I wouldn't be writing this. I do however, own my OC._**

* * *

 _Today was the day_ , I mused internally, as I walked up to my designated bus, following the other middle school hopefuls who wanted to attend the infamous U.A. High. After climbing up the stairs into the vehicle, I found myself walking towards the back. As I did so, Rebecca Black's notorious _Friday_ rang in my head with the lyrics, _"Which seat can I take?"_ fleeting across my mind. My lips twitched upwards as I sang along to the song in my head.

This came to an end rather quick when I caught sight of a handsome blonde male, staring out the window with a pissy look on his face. I quirked an eyebrow at him as my feet lead me to the seat across from his. After settling down into the small space, my eyes found their way back to the blonde seated across from me. A small smirk found its way onto my face as I gazed at his muscles through his form-fitting tank top openly.

 _This one is really attractive,_ I thought, humming to myself in acknowledgement as the bus started moving to the battle center.

His face was chiseled, and he had such a sharp bone structure that most boys wouldn't acquire until adulthood, or _at all_. To add to this, he had muscles in all the right places it seemed, or at least from where my eyes could reach. As far as good genes go, this guy really hit the jackpot. Just from looking at him, I could tell he was physically strong. But what stood out the most was his aura. It practically just screamed that he was here to win, if his hard gaze was any indication.

"Totally my type," I breathed lowly, licking my lips in anticipation.

He seemed to feel my gaze on him, as he turned his upper body in my direction, locking his eyes with me in a heated glare. "What the fuck are you looking at?" He snarled, narrowing his red eyes at my blue ones.

"You," I stated, clear as day.

His left eye twitched at that, his face looking more sour than before. "No fucking shit," he said, feeling his irritation rise. "Why the fuck are you looking at me?"

I moved a few strands of my dark brown hair behind my ear casually. "Because you're hot," I answered plainly.

He paused at my reply, mouth slightly agape. I gathered quite easily from his expression that he did not expect me to say something like that.

I stared up at him, amused, and in turn, he tensed.

A moment passed, and we stared at each other for a few seconds more. Chatters of the other examinees in the bus lingered in the air, filling the silence between us.

Realizing he had yet to retort, he glared at me with something akin to distaste, and promptly concluded, "You're really annoying."

"I feel like we should be sitting together if we're going to keep talking," I said, ignoring his previous statement.

The blonde grit his teeth and dug his fingernails into his palms. "If it wasn't against the rules, I would have shut you up the second you started eye-balling me," he bit out.

I opened my mouth to reply, but he quickly added with a grunt, "Don't fucking push your luck."

I sighed at that, but kept my mouth shut, mentally raising the white flag at him.

Reading my silence as a form of my surrender, he turned his gaze back to the window looking twice as grumpy than he was originally.

Slumping into my seat, I reached into my pocket and pulled out a bag of almonds. Munching on them silently, I looked out the window trying to discern our location. It wasn't long before we reached our destination, the bus eventually pulling to a stop outside of the presumed exam center. I glanced down at the bag of almonds in my lap, hoping that I had enough energy to use my quirk efficiently.

 _Or at the very least, enough to pass._

As the other examinees started piling out of the bus, I pulled out a small five hour energy shot and took it in one gulp. Wiping my mouth with my sleeve, I stood up from the small seating space and followed the blonde male out of the vehicle. I trailed behind him, not really paying attention to the other examinees as we moved towards the front of the crowd.

He stopped abruptly, causing my face to collide into his back harshly. He then turned on his heel swiftly, staring down at me with agitation.

"What is your fucking deal?" he spat.

I rubbed my head at the point of impact, wincing at the dull throb as I tried to ease the pain with my touch. I moved my head upwards to meet his gaze, realizing during this action that he was taller than I thought he was. He was practically towering over me, giving me a classic _"If looks could kill..."_ type of glare.

I tilted my head slightly and locked eyes with him once more, unaffected by his type of personality. "Care to elaborate?"

Had I not been so close to him, I would not have noticed a small vein protruding from his head. I believe this is the part where a normal person would abort the mission, but he was an interesting prospect, and one that might be worth pursuing.

At this point, it should be fairly obvious that I am a rather superficial person. I don't want to be a hero, nor do I have any desire _"to go beyond"_ or _"plus ultra",_ whatever any of that means. All I want is to live a comfortable life without having to worry about the recurring shitfest that is reality, or _Japan,_ in my case.

Is that childish? Perhaps.

However, in this day and age, the world is quickly becoming more unsafe by the day. While there has been an influx in aspiring heroes due to All Might, likewise, there are just as many villains - possibly even more than that. We don't know their exact numbers, but they know _ours -_ and that isn't a good thing.

So I needed to make a choice, just like everyone else.

Choice A: I could become a villain; my morals are a little on the lower side for an average person so it would be a decent fit. But, living a life on the run, or hiding until I'm caught doesn't sound like the kind of life I want to live.

Choice B: I could become a hero, or just get a simple job in heroics, like a desk job at a hero office. If I were to pursue this type of career, no matter the area I would end up in, I would make much more than the average civilian. Furthermore, I would also be surrounded by people who literally have a license to beat up and detain any wrong-doers. The downside - its dangerous, and a lot of work must be put in to get a career in this field.

Lastly, choice C: I could be a civilian, and just get caught up in the middle of it all. This one is the simplest choice, but I feel like if I were to pick this option, my life would be rather bland and boring. Furthermore, I would just be a sitting duck once shit hits the fan, uninformed on the situation just like the other civilians.

In short, choice B was my safest bet. Regrettably, I was going to have to work hard, but I wasn't planning on achieving my goal of living a lavish lifestyle by myself. I needed a partner. And said partner needed to be a man in heroics, preferably one who was going to be rich and successful. I mean, eventually I was going to have to get married, right?

Does that make me a gold-digger? Sure.

However, I wasn't planning on being manipulative about it. If I do plan on pursuing this guy, I will be upfront with him, and tell him about my plans. After all, he seemed like the type of guy who was aiming for the top. Didn't that mean he wanted a partner to stay at the top _with_? It would be difficult, and could take _years_ to be one of the top ten heroes in the country. With that being said, it would be easier done in a team; a power couple. The media would probably be all over it, therefore, more fame and more money.

But, all of that would come later, after high school. So for now, I needed to find someone suitable - which brings us back to the present.

He inched closer menacingly, our chests lightly brushing each other. "Don't play dumb with me, bitch," he growled, "You're following me around."

Not bothered by our close proximity, I merely nodded at him, confirming his insinuation. Staring at his face once again, for the umpteenth time in the last half hour, I noticed his eyes were a brilliant shade of red. They had so much life swirling in them, but all of that was probably just stemming from how angry he appeared to be at this second.

"Your eyes are beautiful," I noted.

His jaw tightened. "Don't change the subject," he added gruffly.

My lips curled upwards. "I'm merely voicing my thoughts."

The blonde male's eyes narrowed with a sneer. "I get it," he said shortly, "You're trying to seduce me before the exam, thinking that I'm gonna let you leech off my points."

"I'm not going to leech off your points," I replied honestly. Lowering my voice a bit, I added with amusement, "But is the seducing working? I'm genuinely curious."

"Fuck no."

I put a hand on my heart mockingly and said, "Well that's a blow to my ego." I stepped back from him a little and analyzed him carefully. "Are you gay?"

His shoulders shook in anger, visibly about to pop his fuse. "I'm not fucking gay," he exclaimed loudly, catching the attention of the other examinees around us. Noticing this, he glared threateningly at them, causing the on-lookers to focus their attention elsewhere.

I bit my lip, resisting the urge to laugh at how funny his reaction was to my question. "Sure," I agreed lightly.

His hands started simmering with smoke, most likely from his quirk. The male stepped towards me once more, malicious intent radiating off him. "I can't decide whether you have balls, or if you're just dumb as fuck for messing with me," he snapped.

I shrugged at him. "I guess both."

He clicked his tongue in irritation. "Whatever," he said, shoving his hands in his pockets, and turning away from me.

"Wait!" I said, raising my voice slightly so he could hear me. I moved to catch up to him. "Tell me your name."

"No," he ground out through gritted teeth, not even sparing me a look.

"If you tell me your name, I'll leave you alone," I said carefully, struggling to keep up with his long strides.

He stopped, seemingly weighing his options. He stood there for a few moments, before he turned around to look at me, skeptical of my proposition.

I raised my hands in defeat. "I promise."

 _At least until we get back on the bus._

Sharp eyebrows knitting together, his lips pressed into a thin line. "Bakugou Katsuki," he finally said, and continued on his way, away from me.

Grinning, I yelled after him, "Furuta Maaya!"

Bakugou kept walking, giving no indication as to whether he heard me or not.

Smirking at his retreating form, I crossed my arms in satisfaction.

 _I may have found my partner._

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Please let me know if Bakugou gets too OOC.**

 **I hope you like my OC. I'm trying to make her different from all the other OC's on here. This story will be following canon, but, without giving anything away, I do plan on changing things up a bit.**

 **See ya'll.**


	2. I get mauled by robots

**Hey yall. To answer some concerns, yes, there will be character development. But, things like that take time, so bear with me.**

 **Anyway, thanks for reading!**

* * *

The exam kicked off without a hitch. War cries could be heard in the air as the examinees exchanged blows with the robotic villains. Everyone had roughly about ten minutes to put their money where their mouth was and show their mettle.

I was currently in the middle of the pack, a 2P villain obstructing my view of the others ahead of me. Concentrating my energy to my right fist, I advanced forward and landed a solid punch on its upper body, fracturing its armor. The villain reeled back slightly from the impact, but charged at me fast a second later, catching me off guard. I grit my teeth in frustration and adjusted my body accordingly, ready to tango with the hunk of metal once more. Barreling in from my left, the bot swung one of its gauntlets at me. I had the intention of dodging, but my legs just wouldn't move. Without any other option, I had no choice but to block the incoming attack. Utilizing my quirk once more, I focused the last of my energy to my arms, hoping that it would strengthen my block.

 _Fuck,_ I thought, biting down on my lip hard. _This is gonna hurt._

And it did. The attack hit my horrible attempt at a block; the impact resounding with a sickening crack. Clearly something _broke_ , if the intense pain reverberating in my left arm was any indication. The blow sent me back a few feet, almost knocking the wind out of me. I trembled in pain, my legs threatening to give out.

The bot rushed towards me again, and I stood in my spot dejected, feeling less than enthusiastic at the turn of events. As the villain stepped back into my bubble of gloom and pain, an idea came to me. The bot raised its gauntlet at me once again, and by the graces of god or some holy deviant being, I was able to move away in time. I moved quickly on my heel and rammed my hand into the plates of armor I had broken previously. I grabbed onto whatever circuits and wires I could get my hand on before ripping them out of the bot. The villain quaked erratically for a few seconds - then finally - broke down in shambles.

I huffed in victory for a brief moment and then promptly fell to my knees in exhaustion.

 _A miracle just happened. Maybe there is a god..._

As I sat on the ground, tired and miserable, I mulled over how many points I had earned. Was it twenty or twenty-one? Shit, was that even enough to pass? I had never been remotely athletic, but I at least thought I had more stamina than this. Cursing under my breath, I struggled to get up from my current position. As I did so, the ground started trembling, forcing me back onto the gravel. My eyes found their way straight ahead of me where most of the other contestants where, standing in front of a robo-villain the size of godzilla.

I stared at it blankly, rethinking my decision to keep going.

The mechanic giant drew a punch, successfully hitting a large horde of the examinees in one swing.

 _Nevermind. Better sit this one out._

So I just sat there lamely for the remaining minutes, watching some of the contestants battle robo-zilla, all the while regretting those times I skipped physical education in my first two years of junior high. Eventually, a horn rang out in the air, signalling the end of the exam. Sighing heavily, I got to my feet with moderate difficulty, still clutching my broken arm. I stared off into space as an elderly woman appeared amidst the rubble, and went to each individual, using some type of healing quirk.

It wasn't until a familiar blonde came into my vision that I snapped out of my reverie. He looked at ease; his jaw relaxed and his gaze even. There wasn't even a scratch on him despite being the first one to rush out into the fray. Though it was brief, from what I had seen, the male was powerful on the battlefield. His moves were quick and precise, all executed without a single shred of hesitation. It didn't take a genius to know he had done well.

He eyed my battered form with a smirk. "You look like shit," he taunted.

I put my hands together against my chest and swooned mockingly at his comment. "Oh Katsuki, you flatter me!"

The boy in question paused at the use of his given name, giving me an irritated look. "Don't talk to me like you know me, _leech_ ," he said flatly.

Tilting my head at the nickname he had adopted for me, a grin crept on my face. "But you just gave me a pet name. People only do that when they're close with one another," I pointed out.

Katsuki clicked his tongue in distaste and added, "Only someone as desperate as you would take that as something endearing."

I met his gaze, my pink lips curling up slightly. "Only if it's from you," I replied, not effected by his statement. I really _was_ a desperate person.

The blonde seemed to observe me for a few moments before shaking his head, and sauntering off towards the direction of the buses.

I didn't go after him.

"Hello there, dearie," a sweet, older voice called out to me.

Turning my head toward the voice, I realized it was the older woman with the healing quirk. "Hello," I greeted politely, bowing my head slightly.

She walked up to me while adjusting her glasses, scrutinizing my wounds. "You got banged up pretty bad," she said with a hint of amusement.

Normally I would have given her a reply, but the exhaustion was currently punching me in the gut - over and over again. So all I could muster was a strained smile in return.

"Come here," she said, waving her hand towards her.

I complied, bending down to her level, confusion evident on my face. When I reached her height, she leaned towards me and planted a kiss on my cheek. Almost immediately, I felt a surge of foreign energy rush inside of me, her quirk repairing my wounds. After her quirk appeared to have done its job, she bid me farewell and moved on to the next student.

I stared in disbelief at my once broken arm now hanging at my side without much pain. My body was still sore, but the intense pain I had felt before was almost non-existent. Humming under breath, I glanced at the elderly woman in wonder. Quirks really were amazing things.

Noticing some of the other students leaving the battle center, I ambled along behind them, analyzing their facial expressions with interest. Some of them appeared to be content with their number of points, while others were visibly despondent. I supposed I fell in the latter side of the spectrum, due to the less than desirable amount of points I had attained. I wasn't in high spirits, and the possibility of being accepted into U.A. seemed to be at a very small number; though I was relatively sure I had done well on the written exam, at the very least.

Stepping in the line to get back on the bus, I inhaled deeply and exhaled through my nose. Regardless of what happened today, I can't let it show on my face or in my body language. Loosening my shoulders, I straightened my posture and took long strides over to the entrance of the bus. As I did so, I caught several facial expressions of the others, most of them female. They were unnerved; their arms tucked close to their body, shrinking away ever so slightly. While I had kept my poker face in check, a smug smile threatened to break out on my face.

 _Fake it til you make it._

Maintaining my facade, I strolled on by the familiar rows of seats, making my way back to the one across from Katsuki. I settled down back into the small space, my face morphing from a look of disinterest to a more pleased expression. I needed to keep up appearances until the very end. The blonde was probably the type of guy that didn't want someone weak as their partner, anyway.

I heard a scoff coming from my left as the bus started moving back towards the school.

Turning my head at the male, I looked at him questionably. "Is something wrong?" I asked, knowing where this was headed. He was certainly smarter than he looked.

And boy, did I love men who had both brains _and_ brawn.

Katsuki sat with his arms crossed, staring at me through narrowed eyes. "You can't fool me," he said, analyzing me carefully. "You're trying to act like you did better than everyone else."

I raised a brow at his accusation. He was indeed, correct. But he was never going to know that.

"And how do you know that I didn't?" I challenged.

"I was in front of everyone," he pointed out with a smirk, "and I destroyed every single bot that came my way."

I mirrored his smirk. "Indeed, you lead the pack," I confirmed, "However, you and the others that ran ahead missed a gold mine of bot traps that were located in the back."

It wasn't a complete lie. At the start of the exam, all of the contestants had rushed through the gate, trying to get as much points as they could. The contestants at the front set off most of the traps, but there were a few that they had missed. This was a golden opportunity for those in the rear, as all the competition had rushed ahead, scrambling for points. And I was way _way_ back there, since I had the athleticism of a six year-old. But that was unnecessary information.

I continued with a taunt, "Did you really think that you got most of them?"

His smirk turned into a scowl. "You're lying," he rebuffed.

Shrugging, I leaned back into my seat. "Think what you want," I said nonchalantly.

In return, he looked pissed, even more so when I turned my attention away from him. I expected him to say some form of obscenity and then ignore me for the rest of the bus ride, but it seemed like he wasn't backing down.

Lying didn't bother me in the slightest. It was a good tactic to use if you ever needed the odds to shift in your favor in some way. The bottom line is - if you're a good liar, you're good at everything. However, stretching the truth a little too much comes with very bad consequences. If the exam proctors make the results from the physical exam available to all participants, then I was screwed. Of course, this is all assuming he remembers my name and such.

 _We'll cross that bridge when we get there._

Katsuki leaned forward in his seat, intent on making me spill the beans. "Then tell me, _leech,_ if you're such a good fighter, then why do you look so fucked up?" he sneered.

Moving my gaze back over to him, I smiled mockingly. "It was a tough battle. It's difficult to fight, and _win_ against _so many_ by yourself," I drawled out, putting a hand to my head dramatically. "I'm sure you wouldn't know what that feels like, _Katsuki."_

He raised a sharp brow at me, disbelief and irritation written all over his face. "You're fucking bullshit. I bet your quirk is useless," he replied snidely.

I stared evenly at him and said, "I'll tell you mine, if you tell me yours."

He leaned his head back against the seat, giving me an unreadable expression. "Explosion," he answered tersely.

I inched my head closer a bit, expecting him to expand on his quirk more. After a few moments of silence, I realized it wasn't going to happen. "That's all you're going to give me?" I asked.

The blonde male clicked his tongue, acting like it was a bother having to explain his quirk to me. "My sweat contains nitroglycerin and I can detonate it to make explosions," he replied in a clipped tone.

Humming in response, I put a hand to my chin in thought, wondering if I should be disgusted. "So basically, you're a really sweaty guy. Do you smell a lot?" I asked casually.

Katsuki's upper body twitched, as if he was restraining himself from choking me. "Shut the fuck up," he ground out through gritted teeth, "It's your fucking turn."

"Okay," I said, adjusting my position to get more comfortable in my seat. "My quirk is called Assimilation. I can absorb energy from others through touch, and I can utilize this energy in some way."

His previously pissed off expression was replaced by one of genuine interest. "Like how?" he asked curiously.

"I can use the energy to enhance my physical capabilities, and I can also expel it offensively as well," I explained, making a few hand gestures. "However, expelling energy is a really draining thing to do, so I try to avoid doing so."

While contemplating my words, his face scrunched up in distaste. "You really _are_ a leech," he concluded.

I blinked in realization, and let out a small laugh. "I guess so. That's actually kind of funny," I said, finding the connection to be amusing.

He stared at me blankly for a moment or so, and then continued, "So you stole energy from the others during the exam?" he asked.

Sighing in disappointment, I shook my head. "I couldn't, though it would have helped me out a great deal. If I had done so, the other person would be so exhausted they wouldn't be able to move - depending on the amount of energy I would take, of course," I clarified.

He nodded slowly, understanding where I was getting at.

"Technically, that constitutes as harming another examinee," I finished, voicing his conclusion. "I had to rely on my own energy for this one," I said, absentmindedly fingering the empty bag of almonds in my pocket.

 _And it was embarrassing,_ I said mentally, my mind going back to my exceptionally bad performance during the exam.

The bus halted as I was finishing that thought, suggesting we had arrived back at the school. Katsuki wasted no time in getting up to leave, and I followed behind him, making our way towards the exit of the school.

"Hey!" I called out to him from behind, struggling to keep up with his pace.

He ignored me and kept pushing forward, purposefully taking long strides so I wouldn't be able to keep up.

I huffed loudly; a mix of attempting to feign annoyance of his clear desire of escaping me, and from the exhaustion due to today's events.

"This is so crazy! I feel like we've already done this!" I exclaimed jokingly, despite it being true.

He continued his silent treatment, not acknowledging me in the slightest.

"Katsuki!" I whined, practically running after him at this point.

The boy in question finally stopped with a grunt, rolling his eyes as he half-turned to me. "What?" he bit out, sounding exasperated.

I took out a small piece of paper from my hoodie that I had written after he ditched me before the start of the exam. "Here," I said, holding it out to him.

He glanced at it and then shifted his head to glare at me fully. "The fuck?"

"Just take it."

Katsuki breathed out sharply through his nose, begrudgingly taking the paper from my hand.

Despite my current worn-out state, I still had the energy to put on my best seductive smile. "See you later," I said lowly, winking at him as I strut off in the other direction, adding a little extra sway to my hips the whole while.

After I rounded a corner, I hid behind a lamp post and tried to catch his reaction without being caught. As I peeked my head out, he opened the small piece of paper, appearing to read it. I wasn't really far away, but it was hard to see his expression from this distance. He looked pissed, but then again, he probably always was. The male stood there for a few moments, glaring down at the paper like he was trying to kill it with his eyes, before shoving it into his pocket and stalking off.

"Yes!" I shouted victoriously, fists up in the air.

Some of the contestants from the exam were still lingering around the street, all of which, were now currently staring at me with interest.

Taking quick notice of this, I immediately straightened up and cringed at my actions.

 _Yuck, I can't believe I just did that._

Shaking my head, I leaned back against the post with a smirk.

 _He kept it._

* * *

 ** _Bonus:_**

Bakugou Katsuki opened the piece of paper, eyes quickly scanning the note before a scowl erupted on his features.

 _ **XXX-XXX-XXXX**_

 _ **Call me!**_

 _ **-Maaya**_

On the side of the note was a kiss mark stained in cherry-colored lip gloss.

 _Fucking hell._


	3. I experience a short-term crisis

My legs wobbled slightly as I walked up the stairs leading to my apartment, the wood creaking with every step I took. When my destination came into sight, I let out a sigh of relief, and trudged towards the door with every intention of going right to bed.

 _Finally..._ I groaned internally, as I put the house key inside the keyhole. My legs felt like they weighed 100 lbs more, _each_ , as I lead myself past the too-small kitchen area and onto a nearby couch.

 _"_ I feel like I'm dying," I whined aloud, throwing my feet up onto a scruffy old cushion.

A feminine chuckle resounded from the hallway, clearly amused by what I had said. I didn't bother turning my head to look at the familiar voice, as they sat down over by my feet with every intention of engaging in conversation despite my state.

"You're so dramatic," the woman called out, "You look perfectly fine to me."

I positioned my head to see my mother sitting on the opposite end of the couch, checking her makeup in a compact mirror. She was wearing a red strapless dress that came down to just above her knees, heels adorning her feet in the same shade of red. Her coiled brown hair was short in length, coming to a stop just below her shoulders. Clearly she had another date.

"They had someone with a healing quirk," I muttered just loud enough for her to hear me.

She paused at that, moving her gaze towards me with a single arched brow. "A healing quirk? Those are rare, you know," she said with a grin. "Was it a male? Young?" she asked, an all too-knowing look in her eyes.

My grin matched her own, though mine was more amused than anything. "She was a granny. Had to be at _least_ seventy."

Her smile dropped, and she closed her eyes, cringing at the news. "Damn," she cursed, picking up her mirror once again, positioning it so she could see her face better. "Seventy years old, _my god._ I'm going to be young forever," she declared, fixing an eyelash.

I snorted, "It's only a matter of time-"

She shut her compact loudly, cutting me off. "If anyone asks, I'm your sister," she announced loudly, getting into one of her moods again.

I responded flatly with a short, "No."

Before my mom had a chance to retort, a steady knock resonated from behind our front door.

My mom stood up hastily while fixing her dress. "How do I look?" She asked, moving towards the door but still within sight of me. "He's some big-time lawyer. This could be it for us, you know."

I merely gave her a thumbs-up in response, not really expecting this to go anywhere, as usual. "Go for it."

She gave me another grin, and sauntered towards the door, getting more confident with every stride. Turning the knob, she was met with a familiar face of the man who was to be her date for the night.

I didn't move from my spot from the couch as they greeted each other.

"Furuta Mao-san, it's a pleasure to see you again," I heard the man say, followed by a giggle from my mother as they shut the door behind them and left.

Letting out a sigh I didn't know I was holding, my eyes worked their way up to the puke-green ceiling fan above me. Minutes had passed by slowly, and my eyes started to flutter, finally succumbing to the exhaustion from the day's activities.

* * *

About a week and a half had passed since the exam and I still hadn't heard anything from U.A.. What this meant exactly, I had no idea. Did the other participants already hear back from them? I heard they were going to send a letter notifying us of their decision. Yet, I hadn't received _anything._ I was a usually patient person, but something like this was life-changing. If you went to U.A., and made a name for yourself one way or another, you were golden. Heroes did advertisements, they modeled for people, they interacted with other powerful people in society, and they got paid - much more than the average joe, especially if they were good at what they do. Of course, they do heroic shit too.

But, I can worry about that last part later.

So where did that leave me?

I felt a tick of annoyance growing in my chest and clicked my tongue loudly. My seatmate jumped slightly at the sound. What was his name again? Shu-something. Shoji, maybe?

The grey-haired male seemed to hesitate before asking, "Are you alright, Furuta-san?"

"I'm perfect, Shuri," I replied smoothly, leaning over to the side of my desk to pull out an energy drink.

He opened his mouth, and then closed it, then opened it again.

Taking a sip from the can, I glanced around the classroom not really looking at anything in particular. This place was a dump. The paint and drywall were peeling, the air conditioning broke twice a month, and she swore she saw cockroaches crawling under her teacher's desk.

"Ah, actually my name is Shoda," he finally spoke, fidgeting with his uniform.

"Right," I said, eyeing the dandruff that seemed all too present in a nearby classmate's hair.

Shiji shuffled in his seat a bit before speaking up once more. "I saw you at the exam center."

At the mention of last week's events, I snapped my gaze to the boy seated next to me.

He cleared his throat softly before speaking. "After the exam, when you got off your bus, you looked like you had done well..." he trailed off.

I blinked.

After the exam? That was when I was with Katsuki-

I cringed internally as the memories from a week ago flooded into my head. I talked all that shit, and nothing to show for it.

 _All to chase after an elusive blonde..._

"Fuck," I blurted aloud, catching the attention of the others seated near me. Not paying them any mind, I turned to Shiro, my expression turning blank. "I'm fucked," I said with finality.

His face morphed into one of confusion, as he looked over me, attempting to understand my outburst. "Um, I...sorry, can you elaborate?" he asked, unsure of where this was going.

"I think I failed..." I mumbled lowly to him, rubbing the bridge of my nose. "Sorry, realization is just kicking in," I added lamely, though my face was still one of indifference.

A look of sympathy appeared on his features, followed by understanding. "I'm sorry for bring it up," he apologized, glancing down at his shoes. He paused for a moment, and then continued, "I don't think I did well either, to be honest."

"Really?" I asked, focusing my attention on him once again.

"Ah well," he started, scratching the side of his face, "Everyone that was at the same battle center as me were all strong. Especially this one guy..." he said, his eyes widening in memory. "I think he had a steel quirk - like he could harden his body with it or something...he must have acquired at least more than forty-five villain points."

"Forty-five," I repeated glumly, staring at a stray piece of gum on the floor that didn't quite reach the trash can next to it.

Shodo was sporting a similar expression. "I know how you feel. I think I only got thirty-one," he conveyed.

"I got twenty."

The boy winced, clearly not expecting that. "Oh, um..." he whispered, visibly guilty for mentioning his score. "I'm so-"

"It's cool," I cut in, waving him off with a well-manicured hand. "Shit happens. Just don't tell anyone."

He shook his head, some of his grey locks falling just above his eyes. "You shouldn't admit defeat yet. We haven't even received our scores!" he exclaimed, his previous anxiousness disappearing from his profile.

At that, I shifted in my seat, mulling over his words. "The odds are less than likely."

"But we don't know for sure," he noted lightly, though there was an audible trace of hope in his voice. He hadn't given up yet.

I moved to face the boy completely, studying his features with my head leaning against my hand for support. He had an honest and steady gaze, and had an aura of an all-around good person.

"Shogi, you wear your heart on your sleeve," I said, observing him casually.

A single bead of sweat rolled down his forehead. "Ah actually, my name is Shoda," he corrected.

I bobbed my head in agreement, and slowly rose from my seat, voicing out a short, "Right."

Deciding to finally head home for the day, I picked up my book bag and made my way towards the exit of the classroom. "See you tomorrow," I called out over my shoulder towards my seatmate.

My ears picked up some movement behind me as he repeated back, "See you tomorrow!"

My legs never stopped moving as I left the room, and soon, out of the building. Eventually, I found myself ambling back down a familiar path to my apartment, still thinking about my future plans. There was no point in getting antsy. Not getting into U.A. wasn't ideal, however, it wasn't the end of the world. There were still other schools I could apply to - one of them being just as much as a power-house school as U.A. Though, Shiketsu was unfavorable as it was located on the west side, further away from home.

Sighing, I turned to my left eyeing a doughnut shop for a moment before halting my steps as I looked at my reflection in the store's window. My long hair plunged past my shoulders, disheveled from the wind and a long day of junior high bullshit. I was dressed in the same school uniform I had been wearing for the last two years; a black blazer and a matching set that consisted of an eggplant-colored tie and skirt. It wasn't even that cute.

I bit down on my glossed lips, inspecting the growing bags under my eyes while reminding myself to get another eye serum, as my current one didn't seem to be working very well. My gaze flitted past the window to glance at one of the sugary, weight-inducing treats that were situated beyond the glass. Should I lament for my caloric intake now or do it the second after I eat?

What the hell was I even doing? Checking myself out in public as if I was in the privacy of my own bathroom? Outside of a doughnut store? Shaking my head, I swiveled on my heel and continued into the market, a wide array of booths and department stores lining my path.

This was a nightmare. I was losing my wits.

Was this an early quarter-life crisis? I had no protocol for this type of event.

Deviating from my original route to home, I decided that I would finally concede to the various health-related forums online to buy some white tea. My mother would be ecstatic, as she was an avid fan of the drink.

Entering a nearby convenience store, I scanned an aisle searching for the product. My eyes skimmed the shelves quickly, before settling themselves on a spiky blonde towards the end of the aisle, their complete attention focused on entirely on the spicy ramen noodle packages before them.

My eyes narrowed at the muscular figure standing about twenty feet away from me, who was appearing to have a dilemma concerning his choice of dinner for the evening.

It was _him_. It was Bakugou fucking Katsuki.

I felt a small spike of excitement rise in my chest at the sight of him and felt my earlier unpleasantness fade away from me at the sudden stroke of luck.

I couldn't give up now. I had dug one foot in the grave already, so backing out wasn't an option. I was going to get what I wanted no matter what.

My lips twitched upwards into a smirk as I had chosen my fate to encounter the explosive male once more, approaching him at a relaxed pace. He must have seen me move out of the corner of his eye as he turned his head towards me before I reached him. He appeared to observe me for a second, then only a moment later, a scowl formed on his face.

Good, he remembers me.

"Katsuki, what a coincidence seeing you here," I said with a grin, standing now at an arm's length away from him.

He clicked his tongue in distaste and narrowed his eyes. "It's you again," he stated in a rather clipped tone.

"Indeed," I said, noticing he was in his school uniform too. "What are you doing here?"

"None of your business," he snapped shortly before randomly grabbing one of the ramen packages from the shelf and moving past me to go to the register to pay.

As unbothered as could be, I followed him, forgetting why I was even here in the first place.

"You haven't called me yet," I spoke to him, folding my arms in the process.

He reached into his wallet and pulled out some change, putting it down on the counter with more force than necessary. "Why the fuck would I?"

The cashier looked visibly startled at us as he scanned the ramen, watching the drama unfold before his very eyes.

"I thought we became close," I muttered to him lowly, admiring his sharp jaw line from my position beside him.

Hearing my tone, he snatched his change from the cashier's hands, grabbing his ramen as he did so. "Like hell we are," he growled, marching off towards the exit of the store.

I lightly shook my head and gave the cashier a pointed look, asking him, "Isn't he the worst?"

This earned a scoff from behind me, most likely from the blonde. Without waiting for a reply from the cashier, I skipped after the male with an innocent smile on my lips.

When I stepped through the automatic doors, Katsuki was standing against the wall with an eerily calm look on his face.

"You have some nerve," he commented, his piercing red eyes watching my every move. He then moved off the wall and stalked towards me, an edge noticable in every step. He stopped only a hair away from me, now physically glaring down at me.

It was as if he was asserting his dominance over me with his height. What an eye-roll.

Nevertheless, it was becoming increasingly obvious that he was going to be very difficult to work with. I couldn't present my proposition to be partners now, as he would never even consider the thought.

I had to demonstrate my worth first, something that would prove to be annoying no doubt. And it was probably going to take some time.

But it had to be done, and so it shall.

I squared my shoulders and met his gaze evenly. "You need to if you're aiming for the top," I answered plainly.

At that, he sneered, "You?"

"That's right," I confirmed, a sly smile threatening to break out onto my face. "My plan is still in the early stages, but the cogs will begin to turn in due time."

Katsuki eyed me seriously at my vague statement, scrutinizing my face with such intensity. A moment later, he asked gruffly, "Are you challenging me?"

I shrugged lightly at this. "Possibly."

And to my surprise, he _laughed._ It was a husky, rough-sounding chuckle that I found oddly pleasant to the ears. And much too short-lived.

"Fine," he said lowly, watching me with a dark glint in his eyes, "Don't disappoint me then."

My lips curled up into a devious smirk and I leaned forward just a tad. "I assure you," I drew out slowly, feeling his hot breath on my face as I continued, "It will be worth your while."

And with that, I spun on my heel and sauntered off in the direction of my apartment, effectively ending the conversation. Making my way out of the market, I loosened my tie and fanned myself with a hand.

The air was much too thick.

* * *

Later that night, I found myself eating a TV dinner on the couch, watching _Weekly Hero_. Apparently, there was a rumor going around that pro-hero Lunch-Rush was dating three women at the same time.

I raised a slender brow at the headlines, doubtful of the rumor but also amused.

 _What was even going on anymore?_

At that moment, my mother came in through the front door, various things in her hands.

I shifted my attention away from the screen and sent her a nod and a short, "Hey."

She grinned at me, setting her purse and the mail down on the kitchen table without so much of a thought. "Maaya," she started, taking fast steps toward me in what appeared to be excitement. "You'll never guess who I have a date with!"

She was now standing in front of me, obstructing my view of the TV from the sofa. She was wearing a black pencil skirt and a white button down blouse that complimented her figure.

My eyes twinkled with mirth as I leaned back into the sofa. "Please tell me it was the guy you threw up on," I said, a giggle escaping my lips at the memory.

My mother sent me glare, placing her hands on her hips. "I thought we weren't going to talk about that," she rasped, exasperated that I would bring up such a topic. "Besides you know I've given up tequila since then."

"Alright," I put my newly-polished nails up in defeat. "I won't mention it anymore."

She released me from her glare and sat beside me, folding one of her legs over the other. "He's a detective," she divulged, a cunning smile stretching its way on her face.

"A detective," I parroted, turning my focus back to the blue screen once again.

 _"Does pro-hero Endeavor have cankles? Find out tonight at 9!"_ The TV host announced, ending the program and cutting to a commercial break.

I heard a groan from beside me.

My mother started twisting her face childishly at me and playfully slapped my arm. "Do you even care?"

"Of course I do."

"Good," she said, placing a kiss on my cheek. "Now go get your mother her wine."

I gave her a lopsided grin while getting up from my seat. "I thought you were done with alcohol?" I asked, making my way into the kitchen.

"I only said tequila," she pointed out, pulling her feet up on the cushion where I was sitting previously.

Shaking my head, I opened the fridge and grabbed the bottle, setting it down on the kitchen table near her purse. As I was opening the wine with a bottle opener, a particular letter from the stack of mail on the table caught my attention.

 _To Miss Furuta Maaya,_ it read.

Curiously, I held up the letter, looking for the name of the sender.

I sucked in a breath when I saw the name. It was from U.A.

"Oh my god..." I mumbled under my breath in disbelief, eyes widening at the parchment I held in my hands.

"What is it?" I heard my mom call from the other side of the room.

I swallowed before I answered her. "It's from U.A..." I replied anxiously, feeling my heart was beat faster than before.

Immediately, I heard her jump off the couch and ran over to me with an eager look on her face. "What are you waiting for?" she questioned, rubbing her hands excitedly. "Open it, dear!"

I breathed out slowly and complied, opening the letter with careful hands. Reaching into the parchment, I pulled out a..contraption of sorts? It looked like a speaker.

"What the-"

"Hello, Hello!" A loud voice boomed out, coming from the small device. A second later, a large screen appeared along with All Might.

My mom clapped her hands together in amazement. "This is so cool!"

"Hello there, young one! Can you hear me?" He shouted out while doing an exaggerated pose. "Congratulations on completing the physical exam!"

I stared at the screen blankly. Was this a recording?

"Let's get down to nitty gritty! I will now go over your test scores!" he announced, doing some weird motions with his hands.

I gulped, mentally preparing myself for the worst.

"Little lady," he started, flexing his muscles at the camera, "You scored in the upper percentile on the written exam! Truly something to be proud of! However..."

I bit the inside of my cheek, knowing where this was going.

"Your practical skills rating was a measly 4 out of ten," he continued, "Which was on the low side compared to the other applicants."

"Oh, honey," my mom put a hand on my shoulder, noting how tense I had become.

"Nevertheless, you showed your acumen for battle strategy - a skill needed to become a successful hero," he then sent a thumbs-up, "Like me."

Confusion was evident on my face. "Is that what it _looked_ like?" I asked aloud, expressing incredulity of his statement. I always talked a good game, but I guess my acting was better than I thought it was.

All Might grinned and twirled on his foot like a ballerina, "You're going to need to work hard from now on, little lady, because you passed! Congratulations, and welcome to U.A. High!"

The screen then promptly disappeared, and I stared numbly at the device in my hands.

My mother squealed uncontrollably at the news and shook my shoulders with such vigor I never knew she had. "Maaya! You did it! This is the best day ever!" She beamed at me, jumping around the small kitchen with enthusiasm. "We are going to have to get you a gym membership or something. But, nevermind that now, you deserve a glass of wine!"

I did it.

 _I did it._

It took a minute or so for it to sink in, but when it did, my mind started racing with calculating thoughts - possibilities lining themselves up at an invisible starting line in my head.

Very slowly, a wicked smile grew on my face, unnoticed by my mom, who was currently grabbing two wine glasses from a cabinet.

 _There was no rest for the crooked._

 _._

 _._

* * *

 **.**

 **Hey yall. Did any of you recognize who her classmate was? No? Oh well. It was Nirengeki Shoda, from class B. Look him up.**

 **Thanks for reading!**


	4. I attend my first day of school

The day finally came. It was the first day of my life as a hero-to-be. The entrance to the school was packed with panicked, yet enthusiastic first-years, followed by the lax and smug second and third-years. It was slightly hectic, as any first day was. But, even more so than the inside of the school, the outside was no better. There was a small horde of reporters and their camera men outside of the gates trying to catch a glimpse of the legendary hero All Might working as a teacher. Even just trying to enter the school was going to be a hassle.

Nevertheless, I had made it.

I ambled my way in through the throngs of U.A.'s student body and tried to find my way to my classroom, which was proving to be harder than it was supposed to be. This place was gigantic, after all. It also didn't help that some students were using their quirks to show off to others, making it hard to see past them. There was even a couple making out in the middle of a hallway, another student who was likely to be their mutual friend standing next to them slightly awkward. The guy who was third-wheeling it hard met my eyes for a moment and then winked at me. I rolled my eyes briefly at the commotion and resumed my trek across the school grounds, not giving any of it a second thought.

Eventually, I caught sight of an unnecessarily large door that had "1 - A" painted on it, making it safe to assume I had found where the first-year classes were. I made my way over to the door and opened it slightly to check to see if a certain blonde male was there. I had not seen him since the encounter we had at the convenience store, and he still never called me, not that I ever expected him to, but still. I was a persistent woman.

I had not forgotten him, and I had to make sure he wouldn't forget me.

A grin erupted on my face when I saw the familiar blonde, he had a _"don't bother me or I'll kill you"_ look on his face as he sat rather delinquent-like in his seat. There were a few others already in the class, but all of which were most likely unimportant for me to save in my memory.

I opened the door a little more, hoping to make myself known. A few pairs of eyes moved toward my direction, one of them, my beloved Bakugou Katsuki.

He narrowed his red eyes sharply at me, but said nothing.

Ah, true love. I wouldn't have wanted it any other way.

I'll be courteous since its only the first day of school, and no doubt, he was already at least 82% pissed. We wouldn't want to reach 100% until later.

In return at his actions, I simply gave him a knowing smile and a small wave, then promptly closed the door.

I've become so subtle.

"Um, excuse me..." A small voice wavered from behind me.

I turned and was met with a freckled boy with messy green hair. I could practically feel the hesitation and anxiety fluctuating off him. This guy must have it rough.

"Sorry about that," I apologized, giving him a friendly smile and moved out of his way to walk off toward the end of the hall.

I came to a stop in front of a door that was labeled "1 - B", and gently moved the door to the side, making my way to an empty seat in the back. I tilted myself back in my chair as other students started piling into the classroom, each giving the others a once-over before taking their own seats. Everyone appeared to be on edge, including myself, as the overall atmosphere felt just a little too tense.

The huge door opened once again, signaling the entrance of yet another student, and thankfully, it was someone I knew very well. Nirengeki Shoda's eyes scanned the room, his lips forming a smile when he saw me give a nod of acknowledgement.

It was amazing, really. Neither of us thought we would get in, but we both slipped through the cracks somehow.

"Maaya," he greeted, as he settled down into the chair next to mine. "I guess we're both going to be seatmates again."

I nodded once more at his use of my given name. After we both received our letters of acceptance, we started talking to each other more at school. He didn't seem to mind my personality nor my ambitions, so he was worth keeping around. Eventually I told him to ditch the formality and he reluctantly agreed.

"Nirengeki..." I started, examining his form intensely, "Did you lose some weight?" He was still a tad chubby, but a whole lot slimmer than when we first met.

The grey-haired boy rubbed his neck at that and let out a small chuckle. "Your mom talked me into drinking more white tea," he said, apparently falling victim to my mother's incessant babbling.

I hummed, running a hand through my dark hair as two more students came into the room. "Don't make me laugh," I muttered, eyeing the split ends of a female classmate seated in front of me.

Nirengeki followed my gaze and sighed. "I know you don't like exercising, but perhaps you could use it," he said nonchalantly.

Over the past several months, I had made Nirengeki watch shows like _The Fashion Police_ and exposed him to trendy magazines and the like to help him with his confidence and to teach him how to make a statement. Every now and then, he says some pretty surprising things. Though, he was still a cinnamon roll.

I crossed my arms at his comment, grateful that we both did not seem to draw any attention from the other students. "Are you trying to say I'm fat?"

He tilted his head in thought. "No, but you're definitely out of shape," he replied blankly.

I stared at him in amazement. "When did you even grow the balls to say that?"

Nirengeki parted his lips to speak once more, but was cut off by the sound of the door being slammed open, revealing quite the interesting character. A tall man wearing a red and silver jumpsuit strode toward the front of the room with an aura of superiority. Excited whispers erupted around the room, indicating that most of the students clearly knew this guy.

I shifted towards Nirengeki, who also seemed to light up at the sight of this meat head. Honestly, I knew next to nothing about most of Japan's heroes, save for a few that would appear on those entertainment channels, but those were mostly heroes who were nothing more than television personalities. Grumbling, I took out my phone, setting a reminder to do more research on pro heroes in general.

"You in the back!" a loud masculine voice called out.

I paused and picked my head up cautiously, hoping the beefy man wasn't directing that at me.

And then I met his gaze, and realized I, indeed, was on the receiving end. The entire class was staring at me too.

 _Shit._

"Are you on your phone?" he questioned, his tone powerful and steady.

"No," I lied easily, discreetly placing my phone inside the sleeve of my blazer.

His crimson eyes stayed trained on me, and I just kept looking at him, hoping I didn't look like a little bitch.

He knew I was lying. Yet, he only stared at me a few moments more then turned his attention on the rest of the class. I heard Nirengeki release a breath next to me.

"Just because you all made it into U.A. does not mean you can play around," he said, crossing his arms. "You are all here as aspiring heroes-"

Then I tuned him out. Not by choice, its just hard to pay attention these days. Leaning back in my seat, I scanned the classroom lazily with my hand under my chin, the back of my classmates' heads taking up my entire field of vision.

School had only been in session for five minutes and it already sucked.

I had just made a bad first impression, if any of my classmates even gave a fuck - and _hopefully,_ they didn't. Beefy Vampire Man totally wasn't going to let this slide. But it was the first day, so perhaps he would-

A tap on my right shoulder snapped me back to reality. Nirengeki was standing up while looking down at me expectantly.

"Huh?"

He looked at me flatly. "We're leaving," he said, gesturing with his hand to our classmates who were already making their way towards the door.

Feeling Count Dracula's eyes on me once again, I stood up and nodded. "Of course," I said with ease.

Nirengeki looked at me lamely, but said nothing as he followed me out of the room.

While following behind a girl that had vines for hair and making sure our WWE wrestler of a teacher was out of our proximity, I leaned toward my grey-haired companion.

With a hand circling my mouth, I whispered, _"Where are we going?"_

In return, his lip twitched upwards as he whispered back, _"The opening ceremony."_

 _"Right."_

* * *

So the opening ceremony was wack. I mean, _seriously_.

All of U.A.'s new pupils were lined up in rows according to their class letter, filling up the expanse of the auditorium where the ceremony took place. The auditorium was nothing less than grand, both in its sheer size and magnificent quality. I'm telling you, _the carpet matched the drapes._ Then U.A.'s star-studded faculty came out onto the stage at the front, minus All Might, and everyone around me lost their shit. Some students were screaming like they were at a death metal concert, and others were scrambling for their phones, trying to take pictures of the valiant heroes on stage who we would be seeing regularly for the next three years.

The first to speak was Present Mic, who was just as loud as he was back at the entrance exam.

"Everybody," he started, making a wild gesture to the mass of young students in front of him, "Say hey!"

And unlike the silence he was met with at the entrance exam, this time he got a good roar from the crowd.

Energized by the reaction, the eccentric blonde male was about to speak to the crowd once more until he was elbowed by Ectoplasm, who I mostly knew from _Celebrity Big Brother: Hero Edition_.

With only a wave of his hand and a short, "Quiet down," Ectoplasm made his way toward the center of the stage, eliciting a few squeals from the female population. However, most of the students obeyed his request and gathered themselves, but two rows to the left of me, some girl burst into tears of what I assumed to be happiness, and another fainted and was escorted out of the auditorium via a stretcher.

They must have been Ectoplastics. These fan clubs always gave themselves weird ass names.

But other than that, it seemed for the moment that chaos was put on hold.

Ectoplasm stepped to the side and made way for a humanoid...mink? The tiny animal man was wearing a black, sleeveless suit adorned with a red tie and wore orange sneakers on his...feet _-_ if that's what they were.

"Hello, new students!" he greeted with both hands...or maybe _paws_...resting behind his back. "I am the acting Principal at this establishment and you may refer to me as Principal Nezu."

Whispers could be heard throughout the auditorium about our mammalian Principal, most stemming from his appearance.

"Our Principal is a mouse?" A boy from my class wondered aloud. He had dark hair that was braided into a ponytail and appeared to be of foreign descent.

A boy with spiky brown hair who stood beside the foreigner chimed in, "Nah. He's definitely some kind of hybrid species - kind of like the _Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles_."

"No, man," another boy cut in, "they were _just_ turtles."

"So more like the _ThunderCats_ then?"

"At this academy," Principal Nezu continued, the auditorium falling silent once more, "We have nurtured countless pro-heroes, successful businessmen, highly acclaimed support technicians-"

And then I stopped following along.

Selective hearing was a bitch and so was my overall attitude.

In the end, it proved to be less of a personal issue of mine, and more due to how lengthy Principal Nezu's speech was getting.

I took a glimpse at Vlad-sensei to my left, who looked visibly weary, letting on the impression that this was a regular occurrence.

Eventually, the Principal stopped talking, and let the guidance counselor, whose hero name was Hound Dog, take over. The dude had a muzzle and everything. And then, when it was his time to shine, he let out nothing but a series of barks and growls like a big angry chihuahua. Afterward, the rest of the faculty clapped as if they understood him and then promptly ended the ceremony.

Soon, we made our way back to the classroom. Away from... _whatever that was_.

But before we could even reach our seats, Vlad-sensei stopped us half-way.

"Take these in accordance with your seat number," he instructed clearly, gesturing with a nudge of his silver head to the numbered cases in the corner of the room. "Get changed and follow me to the Omega grounds."

* * *

I pulled my shirt up over my head and sighed slightly, anxious about what was to come next. Physical activity was never my specialty, but I was going to have to toughen up sometime. My quirk allowed me to absorb energy from others through touch and I could either release the energy, emitting a blast of some kind, or I could store it and gradually burn it by increasing my physical capabilities. So perhaps my greatest obstacle would be endurance?

And the fact that I would have to touch someone to absorb the energy only makes it more difficult. However, I was able to pass the entrance exam, although barely, simply through the use of my own energy and the consumption of sugar and caffeine. That deserved some credit, right?

"Hey there!"

I paused my thoughts, turning my head and was greeted by a girl with wavy dark green hair and upturned eyes. She had a casual grin on her face and stood with her hands at her hips, already fully dressed in the gym uniform.

"My name is Tokage. I sit in front of you in class," she said, introducing herself.

"Ah," I mumbled in response, my gaze flickering down to the familiar ends of her hair.

I could spot those split ends a mile away.

Realizing I had yet to give her an appropriate reply, I molded my face into a friendly smile. I didn't want to make enemies. At least, not yet. It would be good to get along with some of my classmates, even if we would one day end up being rivals after we graduate.

I rotated my body to face her fully, wearing only a tan bra and matching underwear. "My surname is Furuta, but you can call me Maaya," I stated plainly.

She seemed to blink in surprise, probably because I was willing to let her address me by my given name, something I never had any qualms about.

Or it was because I was still pretty much naked.

She then let out a good-natured laugh; it was quite pleasant to the ears. "Then, you can call me Setsuna," she replied with a grin, pointing to herself with her index finger.

I scrutinized her for a moment, but she seemed to be a genuine person, so I relaxed a bit and loosened the stiffness in my shoulders.

Emitting a slow audible breath, I gave her an honest smile, "Okay, Setsuna."

Her eyes lightened up at that and she slung an arm around my naked shoulder. "I have a good feeling about us, ya'know," she said pleasantly. "Us girls have to stick together."

I smirked at that, putting my shirt inside a nearby locker, unbothered by her close proximity. "Agreed, it would be nice to have more women in the top ten hero rankings."

Although, I had no idea _who_ was on those rankings, save for a few, and they definitely were not women.

She matched my smirk with a silly smile of her own, removing her arm from my shoulder and settled herself by leaning against the lockers. "Totally!"

I reached into the case containing my uniform and paused when I touched the shirt.

"Wow, this material is really nice," I noted, feeling the material with my fingertips.

"Really?" Setsuna questioned, stroking the ends of her shirt. "Now that you mention it..."

A quiet feminine voice called out, "You noticed it too?"

We both swiveled our heads around to see another classmate of ours, a girl with a shoulder-length bob, staring at us intently - though her expression was rather blank. She was fully dressed in her gym attire and was currently sitting on one of the benches a few feet away from us.

Her voice was so quiet that I almost didn't hear it.

"Kodai Yui," she added, almost as an afterthought.

I only nodded at her. "It must be made up of some kind of special fibers," I said, gently putting the material over my head.

I knew expensive shit when I saw it. If I was blindfolded and only felt the material, I would have said it was Gucci.

Setsuna whistled in response and put a hand in her pocket. "As expected of U.A., this whole place is so over the top," she then pointed at the numbered cases scattered around the locker room and continued, "I bet those are at least three-hundred bucks. They look like those expensive ones in the movies that contain millions of dollars."

" _So_ boujee," I added, snickering while putting on my pants.

"Hey," Setsuna spoke suddenly.

I put the last of my stuff in the locker, "What is it?"

"That girl left," she observed, gesturing with her hand to the open space, "I didn't even hear her leave."

It was true, Kodai Yui was no where to be seen. Actually, so were all the other girls.

"Oh shit," I cursed, scrunching up my face. "We're the last ones."

At that, we both broke out into a quick run and headed toward the field where the rest of our classmates were located. When we arrived, it looked like they hadn't started yet. We were a good distance away from the main building. Though, there wasn't much out here to see. All that was here was a running track.

The crowd was dispersed and there was hardly much talking going on, as no one knew really knew each other yet.

It was kind of awkward.

Spotting a flash of grey hair towards the back, I strode over to Nirengeki with Setsuna in tow.

"Nirengeki," I called out, catching his attention.

Upon reaching him, he smiled. "There you are," he said softly. He shifted his gaze to Setsuna, who was beside me. "And you are?"

Setsuna grinned amiably at him. "You two are good friends? Then, you can call me Setsuna too!"

Nirengeki introduced himself, though he appeared to be slightly anxious as he did so. Although he had gained more confidence during our time together, he was still very much an introvert at heart. Thankfully, the green-haired girl didn't seem to care, and started conversing with him about how he kind of reminded her of the Pillsbury Doughboy.

A loud horn then sounded off in the air, making everyone stiffen at the shrilly noise.

We all then turned towards our teacher who was holding an air horn in one hand, and the other was pulling a wagon of sorts. There was a vault of some kind in the wagon.

"You all want to be heroes right? Then it is necessary to discipline your body and mind," Vlad-sensei lectured in a serious tone, walking over to the vault seated on the wagon. "Simply having a strong quirk isn't enough. You need to build upon your foundation first - and that is what we will do here today."

"Somehow, I have a bad feeling about this..." I mumbled, looking on with distaste.

Nirengeki offered me a smile, though it was a weak one. He was nervous too.

"Today," Vlad-sensei started, opening the mystery vault slowly, "We will be running..."

For a second, I was relieved.

"-with weights," he finished, his crimson eyes narrowing.

And then I wasn't.

"This exercise will increase bone density and muscular strength while improving your cardiovascular fitness," he stated, holding up one of the weight vests. "After we're done with our running practice, we will be doing leg exercises with ankle weights."

 _Fantastic._

Vlad-sensei starting placing the weight vests on the ground in front of each student. "There are straps on the sides of them, so use them! Make sure the vests are strapped around your middle securely!"

Setsuna bent down to lift hers up, but she could hardly lift it off the ground. "Whoa, this is hardcore, even though the premise is simple."

With the exception of two my classmates - the one with the beast-like appearance and the big yellow muscular guy - everyone else was having trouble putting their vests on.

"How much do these even weigh?" asked a girl with orange hair tied up into a side ponytail. She was struggling to get her vest off the ground too.

"Not important," Vlad-sensei answered shortly, "When you all are done putting on the equipment, meet me by the track. _And no quirks allowed_."

After spending a few minutes trying to get the damn thing on, all of us walked - or at least attempted to walk - over to the track. And then the running started and it was _tragic._

It was currently forty-two minutes into the exercise, and a few of my classmates seemed to have little to no trouble running with the vest on and were still able to make their way around the track with almost no issues. However, the majority of the class were not able to run and stuck to a silly-looking version of fast walking instead.

Meanwhile, I was dead last, as usual, save for some blonde guy with parted hair who was traveling more or less at the same pace as me. Just trying to put one foot in front of the other was proving to be really difficult. Even Setsuna and Nirengeki had passed me, although they weren't exactly that far ahead either.

I puffed my cheeks in annoyance, wiping the sweat that had accumulated on my forehead with my sleeve. My legs wobbled every time I stopped to take a break, so I had to keep moving. If I tip over, I'll probably never get back up.

Eventually, Vlad-sensei ended the training exercise, much to everyone's relief, and then ordered us all to go put on the ankle weights for the next training.

"Except for you," he said, pointing to me. "For having your phone out and then lying about it. Continue running."

I froze, but said nothing. I wasn't really surprised. Like everyone had been saying, _this was U.A. after all._

Then slowly, I turned on my heel and went back to the track without a word, ignoring the pitying looks of Nirengeki and Setsuna.

I kept going, I don't know for how long. My mouth was dry and my legs were so heavy.

I don't know how much later, but I ended up collapsing onto the tartan track like a worthless pile of crap.

Was this what it felt like to jump over jumpman?

I heard footsteps coming towards me and I cracked open my eyes as much as I could, gradually settling them onto Vlad-sensei, who was looking down at me with a frown.

"Please tell me I don't have to do that ankle thing," I huffed, exhausted.

He crossed his arms and shook his head. "No, you don't. Class is over for the day."

I gave no response but was thankful that practice was over. Shifting my gaze past Vlad-sensei, I found myself fixated on the wispy clouds above. Pools of sunlight streamed through the visible masses over the vast horizon. I would say it was beautiful, but it actually hurt my eyes very much so I had to close them.

"Tell me," Vlad-sensei began, curiosity present in his tone, "Why do you want to be a hero?"

Squinting at him, I responded with no hesitation, "Money."

To my surprise, he let out a booming laugh that probably reverberated all the way back to the main campus. He then reached out a hand towards me and I took it, almost hesitantly, as he pulled me into an upright position.

My legs and feet ached so much, I could only imagine what they were going to feel like tomorrow. More importantly, I wanted to get this flipping thing off my chest. I fiddled with the straps for a few seconds before I finally got the damn thing off. It fell to the ground with a small _thud._

It literally felt like taking a bra off after a long ass day. I was finally cut loose. A free woman, if you will.

"I appreciate the honesty," he replied finally, picking up the vest that had fallen out of my hands due to its heavy weight. "Not a lot of people say that, actually."

We both started walking back towards the main building, though at a very slow place. Vlad-sensei didn't seem to mind and followed into step with me.

"I'm assuming that most people say the usual bullshit," I muttered through a heavy sigh, running a hand through my dark sweaty locks.

"If the 'usual bullshit' is to keep the peace or protecting those in need, then yeah," the silver-haired man answered, not in the slightest offended by my comment or word usage. "However, everyone who pursues a career in heroics do it to achieve their own goals, whatever they may be."

I hummed at his response then my eyes widened when I realized something. "Wait, where is everyone?" I asked, looking around at the empty grounds.

Vlad-sensei furrowed his brow. "I told you, class ended," he said simply.

I felt a wave of irritation wash over me. "How long ago?"

"About an hour and a half, maybe longer."

My mouth hung open slightly. "Then why-"

"You seemed pretty determined," He said, a small grin forming on his face, though there were no traces of malice. "I was surprised."

I just stood in my spot, feeling dumb and dead. At this point, I was too worn out to be confused or angry.

Vlad-sensei's grin faded into a stern expression. "Now, ask yourself if those pains and aches you are feeling in your body right now are worth it. If you are really set on your goal, then get used to this feeling," he stated gravely, turning his back towards me. "The path ahead of you is a long and treacherous one, regardless of your reasoning. If you can't handle even this, then you should just give up."

He then resumed walking without me and added over his shoulder, "It's only going to get worse from here."

I merely stared after his figure moving off in the distance, his form becoming only a red and silver blur the longer I stood in place.

 _..._

 _Was it worth it?_

I tightened my fists and grit my teeth.

 _Of course it is._

Very slowly, I felt my legs move toward the campus, _toward U.A._ , narrowing my blue eyes into slits.

I wasn't a stubborn bitch for nothing.

.

.

* * *

 **.**

 **Hey guys, I'm sorry there is no Bakugou in this one, but there will be in like every chapter after this, so thanks for toughing it out! I just felt like this chapter was necessary. Also I just realized that I have to come up with a hero name and a costume for her, which kinda sucks. My creativity has been lacking lately but hopefully it will be better soon!**

 **Thanks for reading!**

 **edit: just to clarify, she is in class 1-B, and her seat number is 15, regrettably replacing the character Fukidashi Manga, who is only in like 1 panel in the manga. I wish we got to see class B more in canon :(**


	5. I try to adapt

My eyes snapped open quickly when I heard the blaring noise from my alarm clock go off, signaling the start of a new day. I reached my hand out to my night stand to turn the damn thing off, knocking off a few objects from the furniture as I did so. Finally finding my phone, I pat the screen with my index finger a few times, trying to find the 'ok' button to silence it. After a few moments, I succeeded and laid back down into my bed, nestling into my fluffy lavender comforter.

I was not a morning person nor did I understand how anyone could be one.

"Hey," I heard my mother's voice ring out from the doorway of my room, "You need to get ready or you're going to be late."

I cracked open an eye and peered at her from the cocoon I had made for myself. "I can't," I grumbled, too comfortable to move.

She leaned against the doorway in a dark blue pantsuit that accentuated her curves, her nude-painted nails buttoning up her white shirt underneath her blazer. Seeing as she had already cleaned herself up, she was probably about to leave for work soon.

"What are you, five?" She tucked a few chestnut strands behind her earring-clad ears. "I even made you breakfast. I'm such an amazing mom."

I slowly unfurled myself from my covers and sat up with elbows propped up on the bed. "Did you burn the kitchen down?" I asked with genuine concern, thinking back to the last time she made breakfast. I don't remember what she was trying to make, but she caused the kitchen to go up in flames. The fire department came and everything, it was a huge spectacle. Everyone had to evacuate the apartment building, and our landlord almost kicked us out. There were still parts of our kitchen that had not been fixed yet from the event.

It was quite the lively morning.

My mom was terrible at cooking, so I was usually the one that did it. Though, I unfortunately had inherited her bad culinary skills from her, so I wasn't that great either. But I never caused a fire so there was _that_ to consider.

She smirked pridefully, crossing her arms as she did so. "No I did not. I'll have you know that it will be that greatest thing you have ever eaten!" she challenged, pushing herself off the door way and turning on her heel. "Now get up, before I drag you out of your bed myself or the amazing food I made will get cold!"

I collapsed on my bed, still exhausted, but managed to mumble, "Fine, fine."

* * *

The first half of the school day ended up being ridiculously uneventful. At the start of class, Vlad-sensei' lectured about...something, _which I did not pay attention to_ , and then Present Mic came and started giving us lessons in English, _all of_ _which I did not understand_.

Currently, we were having a free period because Vlad-sensei was apparently needed elsewhere at the moment. All the students present were talking amongst themselves, happy with some free time in between lessons.

"I don't get it," Setsuna said with a huff, seated on the opposite side of my desk, "Whats wrong with wearing a jean jacket and jean pants?"

"Its double denim," Nirengeki replied simply from next to me, sifting through the latest issue of _Vogue Japan_ with mild interest.

"Its a travesty," I added slowly, carefully painting my nails on my right hand with my non-dominant left.

This shit was always such a challenge.

Setsuna blinked confusedly at us, not understanding such a simple rule in fashion, and continued, "But Best Jeanist wears double denim."

"But that's his _thing_ ," Nirengeki reasoned, glancing up from his magazine. "It's what he's known for."

I nodded at Nirengeki while lifting up my right hand and scrutinizing it to make sure it didn't look like a fucking disaster. "He is also the No. 3 hero so that makes his outfit more acceptable," I noted, and then blew on my nails briefly to dry them.

Setsuna paused, mulling over our words carefully. "So, basically, if I become famous enough or if I rank in the top ten heroes, I can wear whatever I want?" she questioned.

Nirengeki and I answered her simultaneously with a swift "Uh-huh".

"Power really is everything, huh?" Setsuna wondered aloud, resting her cheek in her palm.

"We will have to build up our image in the mean time while we're in school," I said, screwing the cap back on to the nail polish container. "And we'll start with those split ends of yours," I announced, sending a meaningful look at those little devils.

Setsuna let out an inaudible gasp and fingered the ends of her green hair softly. "Are they that bad?" She asked curiously, but she seemed otherwise not offended by my statement.

Nirengeki, not wanting to be mean, yet also not wanting to be fake about it, settled with a "Kind of."

"Don't worry," I started, putting a hand on her shoulder, "We'll take good care of you."

Then a familiar sounding noise rang through the intercom, signaling that it was time for lunch. One by one, students got up from their seats and headed out the door to the cafeteria.

I followed behind some guy with a blue and white headband out into the hallway and then turned my attention back to Nirengeki and Setsuna, who were just walking into step next to me. Within a minute or so, we reached the lunch room. It was huge, and there was already a line forming over by the front to get food.

"Oh shoot, I can't believe the line is already this long," Setsuna muttered with distaste.

I scanned the room quickly, and after a moment or so, my eyes eventually landed on a blonde with spiky hair.

My lips twitched upwards.

Nirengeki sighed dejectedly in response to the growing mob of students ahead of us. "I'll start packing from now on-"

He was sitting alone at a table, opening his carton of milk with more force than needed.

 _What a brute._

"Maaya?"

I snapped my head towards my pals, who were both looking at me expectantly.

"Are you going to stand in line with us?" Nirengeki asked, gesturing with his hand toward the mass of hungry students awaiting their meals.

"Actually no," I replied, running my hands over my fly aways in an attempt to smooth them over. "I need to talk to someone, I'll catch up with you guys in a bit."

I then turned on my heel and closed in on my target, who was currently stuffing his face with rice. He didn't notice me until I stood in his peripheral vision.

He paused, put down his bowl and chopsticks, and glared at me straight on.

So of course I sat down in the seat next to him with every intent of engaging in conversation.

"Hello Katsuki," I said amicably, meeting his sharp gaze with a grin.

 _"Leech,"_ he bit out, giving me a sour look. "What the fuck do you want?"

"You," I answered without missing a beat and winked at him.

He paused for a moment, surprised, before his features morphed into a scowl a second later. "Get lost," he said gruffly, then turned his attention back to his food.

"Is that how you treat a friend?" I asked casually, resting my cheek in my right hand.

He scoffed as he picked at his fried rice, "You're not my fucking friend."

"But I want to be," I said simply, watching him pick up a piece of meat with his chopsticks. "Seeing as there's no one else in line," I began, gesturing to the empty seats around us, "we can get to know each other better."

Katsuki narrowed his eyes at that and just simmered in silence as he swallowed his lunch, opting to ignore me rather than going through our usual banter.

I eyed him carefully and noticed he had the smallest of bags under his eyes. This was normal, considering we had to get up at the crack of dawn. However, he seemed to be more agitated than usual, if him literally gobbling down his food as aggressively as possible was anything to go by. Then again, I had never watched him eat in the first place so this might be the usual for him. Still, something seemed off. He seemed more unapproachable than before, which was quite an amazing feat considering his personality.

Well, I might as well ask.

I leaned back slightly, allowing more space between us. "Are you...alright?" I asked hesitantly, knowing he wouldn't respond well no matter how I brought it up.

"Fucking fine," he replied, grabbing his milk carton so hard I thought the damn thing would have exploded and coated the both of us.

"I see," I mumbled, watching his adam's apple move as he gulped down the rest of his drink in one go. "Well you can always talk to me if you need to."

He clicked his tongue in annoyance and balled his fists so hard his knuckles turned white. "I don't fucking need you."

Unaffected by his current state, a secretive smile made its way onto my face and I said to him just above a whisper, "Everyone needs someone."

Katsuki finally turned to face me, his features and overall demeanor changing into one of strange calmness, though it was so unnatural I could tell it was anything but. He had loosened his tense shoulders and relaxed his hands on the table in front of him. His expression was hard, and when his red eyes met mine, I felt the hairs on my neck stand. It felt like I couldn't move, as if his stare alone had paralyzed me.

His gaze was filled with so much resentment and hurt, it almost felt painful.

And for a moment, I was scared.

He didn't hold his stare for too much longer and eventually broke contact. He then stood up and gathered his tray, turning to walk away.

Finally regaining my composure, I found my voice once again. "Where are you going?" I called out while he was still in ear-shot.

"To kill that fucking nerd," he responded with hate in his tone, and then he abruptly paused his steps as if he had forgotten something. With his back still facing me, he called out over his shoulder with heated words, "And don't ever look down on me again, _or else_."

I sat there in silence watching his figure move further and further away from me until he eventually disappeared all together.

What the hell just happened?

I didn't even notice Nirengeki and Setsuna when they had sat down next to me at the table, arranging their trays so they could eat and talk comfortably.

"Maaya?"

I looked up and saw Setsuna watching me with anticipation.

"Are you okay?" My new female companion asked with a hint of worry in her voice. "You look kind of pale."

"Ah," I nodded at her, her words finally registering in my head, "Yeah, I think I'm just really hungry."

Nirengeki eyed me suspiciously, catching my lie but said nothing, probably planning on bringing this matter up another time in private.

Setsuna cracked a grin, showing off her sharp pointed teeth. "Well it's a good thing we got you a tray then," she said, gesturing to the platter in front of me. "Eat up, we only have a couple minutes left before lunch period is over."

I bowed my head slightly as thanks, "I owe you guys one."

Setsuna waved a hand, "Don't sweat it, besides we have to tell you something amazing!"

Chewing on some pork from my dish, I tilted my head in confusion and promptly swallowed before addressing her. "What is it?"

"Apparently All Might is going to be teaching some of the hero courses," Nirengeki chimed in, taking a sip of his miso soup following his words.

I raised a brow at that. "News leaked before the start of the semester that he was going to be a teacher here," I recalled, not really understanding them. This wasn't anything new.

Setsuna rubbed her hands together excitedly. "Don't you get it?" she asked, not understanding my confusion. "He is going to be mentoring us!"

I nodded slowly in response, pondering over their words. "So like, he's going to be teaching _our_ hero courses? That's a little scary."

I've said it once and I will say it again, I knew very little about actual heroes. But, you would have to be living under a rock if you didn't know about All Might and his many great achievements. He is literally a living legend, and to think someone like that was going to be helping us to better ourselves as future heroes...

I shuddered.

He was probably a no-nonsense type of guy like Vlad-sensei. Definitely someone I would have to behave around and likely wouldn't put up with me or my bullshit.

And that was a potential problem.

Nirengeki bobbed his head in agreement at my words and shared a similar look of dismay that I'm sure mirrored my own.

Setsuna noticed our lack of enthusiasm and concerned expressions, and proceeded to flick both of our foreheads in such strength I didn't know she had.

"Oh come on guys, everything will be fine. We got into U.A. for a reason, so I'm sure we can handle it," she said reassuringly.

Feeling a dull throb take over where her finger once was, I rubbed the skin softly in an attempt to soothe it, glancing at Nirengeki who was doing the same.

"Where did you guys even hear that from?" I asked, hoping the source was unreliable.

"These guys in line ahead of us, I think they're from Class 1A," Setsuna replied, her words slightly muffled by the pork she was chewing.

At the mention of 1A, I stared back at the direction where Katsuki had disappeared to, lazily sifting through the unknown faces of the students who were currently exiting the cafeteria. A familiar messy green mop of hair caught my attention in the crowd, and I studied the freckled boy whom I had a very brief encounter with yesterday with light interest.

It seemed he had made a friend or two, as he was currently chatting with a petite brunette girl and a tall raven-haired male donned in thick framed glasses. Compared to yesterday when he was trembling with nervousness, he now seemed at ease, conversing with his two new companions who looked to be genuinely keen on having him in their company.

I hummed at the interaction, Nirengeki and Setsuna' continuing conversation drowned out by my thoughts.

There _was_ someone out there for everyone.

* * *

After lunch, Vlad-sensei ordered us to change and to go out to the Omega grounds again, just as we had the day before. As I changed, a pit of dread had formed in my stomach. After yesterday's shit show, I expected Vlad-sensei to continue giving me harsh treatment for lying to him, but throughout the day, he had seemed to have a change of heart - or decided that running until I collapsed fit my punishment just fine. Either way, he didn't seem to be holding it over me anymore, so I supposed I didn't have anything to worry about today.

When Setsuna and I emerged from the locker rooms and onto the field to rejoin with Nirengeki, we noticed Vlad-sensei didn't appear to have any extra stuff with him today.

Our teacher stood on the tartan track in his usual red and silver hero costume with his arms crossed and his mouth set in a thin line, ready to get down to business. He seemed to be doing a mental count of who was here and who was still in the changing rooms. After a minute or two, when it was clear everyone was accounted for, he cleared his throat to get our attention to begin the lesson.

Vlad-sensei told us that we were going to be focusing on sparring today, which seemed to excite a few of my classmates. Even Nirengeki looked eager to show off his skills. He had worked hard in between the time of our acceptance to U.A. to the start of the school year. I even went to the gym with him to help him get more fit, and he tried to help me do the same, though I didn't take it as seriously as he had. And as a result, he grew slimmer and more confident in his physical capabilities and I...was still the same as before.

 _Fuck,_ I was the worst.

I grimaced as Vlad-sensei ordered us to run around the track to get warmed up, feeling my muscles ache with every step. I was still so sore, so I chose to run at a slower pace than Nirengeki and Setsuna, silently giving them the 'ok' to run ahead of me.

One by one, I watched my classmates pass me while I tried to take steady breaths as I continued on. Hearing footsteps just as heavy as mine, I turned my head to the right and noticed a fellow straggler just a few paces away from me. He was the same blond male from yesterday that was just as shitty as me at running.

At least I wasn't alone in that department.

Eventually a horn rang in the air, signaling to us that we could stop running and to head back to the starting line where Vlad-sensei was waiting.

"As I said earlier," The silver haired hero began sternly, "We will be sparring today. No quirks, aside from that, anything goes. Get into groups of two and start right away."

Setsuna, Nirengeki and I all sent each other hesitant looks before I finally decided to shrug them off.

"Don't worry about it, I'll go find someone else to spar with," I said casually, sending them a reassuring smile and a pat on their backs.

Setsuna looked grateful despite being the most extroverted out of the three of us. "Kill em' dead, Maaya," she cheered, giving me a thumbs up.

Nirengeki nodded and put a hand on my shoulder. "Be careful," he added, worry present in his large, wide eyes.

I gave them a light smile in return and waved them off calmly, my feet already moving towards a certain classmate who I was confident in sparring with. I ambled carefully around the other students in search of the blond with parted hair I had seen earlier. It only took a few moments to spot him, and when I did, I quickly walked up to him as it seemed that most of the other students had already paired up.

"Hey," I called out to him, watching as he turned his head around to meet my gaze. Before he had the chance to speak, I spoke up once more, "Let's pair up."

"Hah?" he voiced in disbelief, rotating his body to face me fully. His hair was smooth and slick, with styled bangs falling just slightly above his right eye. He tilted his head, looking down at me with his slanted dull blue eyes as if I was not worthy to be his partner. "You?" he mocked, as if he had heard me incorrectly, "I don't think so."

I had to resist the urge to roll my eyes and fought to control my expression to remain unaffected by his clear disdain for me. These types of people were always so difficult.

"I hate to break it to you," I began slowly, trying to hide the hint of condescension threatening to reveal itself in my tone, "But you and I are on the same level physically."

He lurched forward and snickered at my statement as if it was the most absurd thing he had ever heard. "Yeah right, weren't you lagging behind-"

"You were right there with me," I countered swiftly.

His face fell slightly but he quickly regained his composure. "That wasn't-"

"Oh please," I interrupted him again, wiping the sweat that had accumulated on my forehead from the run with the back of my hand, "Both of us were in the same boat yesterday too."

That seemed to shut him up at the very least.

We then scrutinized each other closely, assessing the other with our eyes alone. Judging from our 'conversation' just now, he was a very prideful person with an ego that rivaled even Katsuki's. And similar to myself, he cared quite a bit about his appearance and performance. I vaguely wondered what he was even thinking about, as he was still observing me intensely.

"How long are you two going to stand there for?" A deep voice barked, making us flinch in unison.

We both tentatively moved our gaze over to Vlad-sensei who was currently glaring at us a few feet away, unamused that we had yet to get started.

"Monoma, Furuta, time is a luxury," Vlad-sensei lectured seriously all the while shooting me a disapproving look, "and one that we cannot afford."

"Fine," Monoma conceded, a complacent smile forming on his face as he turned his attention back to me and continued, "I'll let you be my partner since you have no one else to pair up with."

I paused, staring blankly at him in confusion, but went with it anyway. "Sure."

After we had both verbally agreed to spar together as a pair, Vlad-sensei left our presence and went off to go yap at another group of students who were slacking off.

Sparring would prove to be difficult, especially since we couldn't even use our quirks to fall back on. I didn't know anything about fighting, nor the techniques and skills that one would need in order to properly fight efficiently in close range combat. The only thing I could really do right now was throw myself out there and hope for the best.

And this was clearly something that I could no longer do anymore.

Monoma shifted his body into a fighting stance, bending his knees slightly and raising his fists, watching me with calculating eyes. I did the same, getting into a basic guard stance, however after a couple seconds of no movement between the both of us, I realized that he probably intended for me to make the first move.

Biting my lip, I balled my fists and moved forward quickly, aiming for a jab to his left side. He dodged, moving around to my right and kicked his leg out against mine to trip me up. Grunting at the contact, I flailed slightly to keep my balance but ended up grabbing his top and pushed all of my weight on my hand to push him on his back. We both toppled onto the grass and I tried to move quickly to pin him down, but he was physically stronger than me and was able to push me off. I struggled all the way, but he was able to get me on my stomach and twisted my arms behind my back, successfully putting an end to this round.

"Ha ha!" He laughed, a smug grin painting his face from his position above me, "See? You aren't even close to my level!"

I sighed heavily with my face still planted into the grass while Monoma continued cackling obnoxiously at his small victory.

Part of me was content that I was laying down since my body was still so sore, and the other part of me was irritated that I lost to this ass hat even though I knew I would lose.

"Are you ever going to get off of me?" I asked with derision, frowning at the fact that my face was probably caked in dirt. "My pores must be screaming right now."

Monoma scoffed as he finally let go of his hold on my arms and stood up. "I guess its no surprise that you care more about your looks than-"

I kicked him in the shin and before he could hobble over in pain, I shot my leg out behind his knees, knocking him back down to the ground. I then hastily grabbed one of his arms to pull me up behind him and pushed him down onto his stomach, straddling his back.

"Y-You-" he bit out as I twisted his arm like he did to mine, "th-that wasn't fair! We hadn't started over yet!"

A wicked smile donned my face as I watched him struggle beneath me, "There are no rules in a fight."

"Correct," the familiar rumble of our teacher's voice rang out.

We both turned our heads and saw Vlad-sensei watching us with an amused expression.

"Out in the field, villains will resort to using all sorts of underhanded tactics. It's best to stay on your toes even during practice," Vlad-sensei lectured. He then sent me a meaningful look, which I took as a sign to let go of my classmate.

Monoma scrambled back onto his feet, shooting me a glare. His sleek hair had become ruffled and had bits of grass in it, and his physical education uniform had become dirtied with streaks of mud from the ground.

I bet I was in a similar state of appearance.

Shrugging off his look, I faced him with a devious smile. "Now we're even."

Monoma shifted back into his stance from before, though he appeared to be more on the offensive this time around. "We'll see about that..." he mumbled, a wild grin settling itself onto his face.

I mirrored his stance, not backing down in the slightest.

And so, we continued sparring. During this time, I was able to get a couple of good blows in and was able to sweep him off his feet a few times. On the other hand, Monoma was faster and managed to out-maneuver me on several occasions while using his stronger physical strength to his advantage. Overall, he was far better than me, but that didn't stop me from using dirty tricks to help even the playing field. On one instance I even flicked dirt in his eyes, to which he let out a slew of loud curses, catching the attention of some of our other classmates.

After a period of time, Vlad-sensei gave us his evaluations group by group. When he finally came to us, he said that we "fought like drunk delinquents having a scuffle at 3 am" and told me separately that it was "unlikely that a hero agency would take an interest in a student that doesn't have a shred of decency".

Whatever.

The session was dismissed after that, and we were both currently in the nurse's office getting treated by Recovery Girl. We were sitting in cheap fold-out chairs, looking absolutely dreadful, with a single empty seat between us.

Since Vlad-sensei let us go, we hadn't said a word to each other, so I was mildly surprised when Monoma broke the silence.

"You have no class," he stated as if it was a scientifically proven fact, not even sparing me a glance.

"I guess," I drawled out, tired as hell from both today's events and the side effect of Recovery Girl's quirk.

"Almost..." he trailed off, struggling to find the right word, "beastly."

"I got it the first time."

Silence then consumed us once again, making the ticking of the clock on the wall sound unnaturally loud.

It wasn't long before Recovery Girl came back into the room, and thankfully, deemed us okay enough to leave.

Both of us quietly shuffled out into the hallway and started the trek back to the locker rooms. A couple of students passed by, gawking at our appearances and whispering behind our backs, but neither of us payed any attention to them.

For some odd reason, I felt the sudden urge to ask, "Are we cool?"

Monoma turned to look at me with furrowed brows.

Oh shit.

"I said that out loud, didn't I?" I asked with wide eyes.

"You did," he confirmed shortly.

"Ah," I murmured under my breath, shocked that I unconsciously betrayed myself.

Monoma sighed, placing his hands in his pockets, seemingly mulling over my words. After a few more paces toward our current destination, he halted his steps. I stopped as well, looking back at him while trying to hide my anticipation with a passive expression.

"We can be," he answered slowly, and then his face contorted into a smirk as he continued, "As long as you admit that I was better than you."

Is this guy for real?

Huffing in irritation, I crossed my arms at his ultimatum. I settled with a simple, "Sure."

His face was all smug now.

I was surprised at how pleased he seemed, considering how half-hearted my reply was. Shaking my head, I started walking once again now that _that_ was over.

Finally reaching the entrance to the locker rooms, I gave Monoma a simple nod of acknowledgement, which he did return, and then we finally went our separate ways.

Upon entering, I noticed that it was empty, meaning that everyone had probably left to go home already. I then made a beeline for the sink, intending to clean myself as much as I possibly could. After wiping off the grime and fixing my hair so I didn't look completely atrocious, I changed back into the school uniform and went on my way, soon finding myself out of the main building.

The main gates were ahead, but upon further inspection, I noticed the boy with green hair standing in the middle of the property. My ears picked up what I assumed was his voice; he was talking to someone. Squinting, I concentrated my eyesight past him and noticed another figure further up towards the gates.

It looked like Katsuki. He shouted something back to green hair, but I could only pick up bits and pieces of what he said. Something about 'number one'?

And then suddenly, a strong gust of wind sliced through the air, making me lose my balance momentarily. I pat down my hair to fix it, looking back at the entrance to U.A., wondering what the hell just happened. Finding nothing, I moved my gaze back to Katsuki and noticed there was another figure who was much larger than him, holding him by his shoulder. I blinked several times, realization of the large man's identity was slowly dawning on me. His iconic hair was unmistakable, it had to be All Might.

Katsuki then started to walk away from the legendary hero, snapping me out of my trance, and I jogged after him passing green hair. When I reached All Might, I caught a glimpse of him as I went around him. All Might had that ever-present trademark smile on his face that I had seen countless times in magazines. He was even wearing his iconic hero costume, though now it was considered a little old fashioned. When I felt his eyes land on me, I shifted my gaze onto Katsuki's back, who I was nearing pretty fast due to our differences in speed.

"Katsuki!" I called out after him, trying to get his attention.

I half expected him to keep walking and to ignore me, but he actually stopped. When I finally reached his side, he continued walking and I adjusted my pace to match his long strides.

I was a little shook at the fact that he didn't snap at me, especially with how everything went at lunch. Then again, I hadn't said anything yet, so things could change pretty fast.

Taking a quick glance at him, I noticed there was a faint redness around his eyes as if he had been rubbing at them. His eyebrows were down and together, and his lips were narrowed into a hard line.

I briefly wondered if I was part of the reason he was like this. However, he had been in a poor mood since earlier, so something big must have really set him off. The only thing I knew was that the green haired boy definitely played a role in whatever funk Katsuki was in.

I bit the inside of my cheek, not really sure what to do or say. He never pegged me for the type to talk about his problems, and if what happened at lunch was any indication, he clearly did not want to discuss it with me. I wanted to tell him that I wasn't looking down on him. The whole reason why I was even pursuing him was because he was strong, so it was mind-boggling to me that he would even say that.

I took one more look at the troubled blonde and sighed.

Maybe for now, simply being here was enough.

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 **Sorry I haven't updated in almost ten months. I just graduated from college (yay me) so I should be able to update frequently from now on. Many thanks to anyone out there who is still reading this!**


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